Catholics, Jews keep lines open

Bishop D'Arcy speaks on common beliefs of the two faiths.

Bishop D'Arcy speaks on common beliefs of the two faiths.

November 21, 2005|ERIN MILLER Tribune Staff Writer

Continuing a conversation first begun 40 years ago, northern Indiana Jews and Catholics on Sunday celebrated the anniversary of the opening of dialogue between the two faiths. "We both believe in a God who speaks," Bishop John D'Arcy of the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Fort Wayne-South Bend said at the Jewish Federation in South Bend. "(Dialogue) is an attempt to restore our common faith in the one true God. It is my hope that our common dialogue will bring about spiritual things." D'Arcy explained the history and some of the significance of Vatican II, the 1965 document during the papacy of Pope John XXIII. D'Arcy also touched on Pope John Paul II's prayer in 2000 for forgiveness for Catholics who had sinned against Jews, the first prayer of its kind. Vatican II told Catholics that Judaism and its tenets were part of the root of Christianity and instructed Catholics not to blame past or present Jews for Christ's crucifixion. His talk focused on the repair of the relationship between the two religions since the Holocaust, particularly under John Paul II's direction. John Paul II, a native of Poland, knew many Jewish families while growing up before World War II, and lost friends in Nazi concentration camps during the war, D'Arcy said. Those experiences made Pope John Paul II more compassionate to Jews, leading one rabbi to comment that John Paul II was a pope "who knows what happened to us," the bishop said. Not everyone at the meeting agreed with D'Arcy's claims about the common beliefs of Catholicism and Judaism. "While it's true that Judaism is a root of Christianity, we are two religions," Alice Frost told D'Arcy during an open discussion after his presentation. "We don't believe in an embodied God. I think it's important to talk about what's in common but also to recognize the differences." Frost asked D'Arcy if Catholic and Jewish leaders had discussed merging the religions. D'Arcy said the dialogue started with Vatican II was not meant to combine the faiths, but added that he believes Jews and Christians worship the same God. "Dialogue is about those things we agree on and those things we differ on," he said. "The goal of dialogue is understanding."Staff writer Erin Miller: emiller@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6553